Last Modified: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 4:50 p.m.

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For Peyton, however, it's not really work. It's just a big game that becomes especially fun when he is training together with his sister, golden retriever Kylee.

Peyton belongs to Bart Walker, a division chief for Marion County Fire Rescue. The dog lives with Walker and his family and is not a department dog.

Kylee, the dog's sister, is owned and trained by Judy Thigpen of Gainesville, a volunteer with Williston Fire Rescue.

"I'm the rookie," Walker said modestly. Thigpen is "the seasoned pro."

Last month, the sibling canines and their handlers trained extensively with the K9 Emergency Response Team in St. Croix Falls, Wis., for five days. At the end of training and testing, Sarah Garfunkel, an evaluator for the National Association For Search and Rescue, certified the dogs as Type II Area search dogs (SARTECH II).

The certification was the culmination of eight months of training for the North Central Florida Interagency Search Team Williston/Marion County Fire Rescue. They trained in Ocala, Gainesville and other areas around Florida.

On a recent Sunday, Peyton and Kylee were back at it again, playing their "games" during a training session. This time their game involved finding mock victim Michele Haney buried in a pile of pallets that are normally used for firefighter training.

Haney was hiding with the dogs' toys, which are what the dogs work for.

Once the victim is located, the search-and-rescue dogs are trained to stay with the victim and bark to alert their handlers of the find.

"It's all a game to them. To us, it's serious business," Walker said.

Search-and-rescue dogs are usually thought of as a tracking/trailing type of dog, usually a bloodhound. Dogs of this breed are trained to keep their noses to the ground and follow a scent trail, Walker said.

"Very good dogs can follow a track that is 12 hours old or more," he said.

Area dogs such as Peyton and Kylee do not follow the track or trail. They are trained so that if they are positioned down wind from the victim, they will pick up traces of the victim's scent. They will then follow the scent until they locate the victim.

In the field test in Wisconsin, each dog and handler had to locate a single victim in a 60-acre area within a certain time frame. It was more difficult in this hilly terrain, as scents travel differently than they do in a flatter environment like Florida, Walker explained.

Both search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers are currently working toward their disaster certification and becoming higher wilderness standard (Type 1) "SAR" dogs.

Walker said one of his goals is to work with local law enforcement agencies and become another resource for them.

It is laborious, time-consuming and costly to train a dog to the highest level of certification, Walker said. Both he and his wife, Elizabeth, as well as Judy Thigpen are financially responsible for their dogs in every way, and both dogs are part of their households.

Not every dog is suited to search and rescue. Like Peyton and Kylee, they must be well-rounded and have a very hunt drive and play drive. They must be in tune with their handlers and be able to work out problems on their own.

Early on, Hank and his brother John, 9, and sister Sarah, 12, were involved in Peyton's training. They would run away and hide and let the dog find them, a game they still play.

Eventually, the distances became further apart and the hiding places more difficult to locate. They are, and will always be, part of building Peyton's training chain, link-by-link.

<p>Bart Walker's 4-year-old son, Hank, says Peyton is his dog — but he lets his dad borrow him for search work.</p><p>For Peyton, however, it's not really work. It's just a big game that becomes especially fun when he is training together with his sister, golden retriever Kylee.</p><p>Peyton belongs to Bart Walker, a division chief for Marion County Fire Rescue. The dog lives with Walker and his family and is not a department dog.</p><p>Kylee, the dog's sister, is owned and trained by Judy Thigpen of Gainesville, a volunteer with Williston Fire Rescue.</p><p>"I'm the rookie," Walker said modestly. Thigpen is "the seasoned pro."</p><p>Last month, the sibling canines and their handlers trained extensively with the K9 Emergency Response Team in St. Croix Falls, Wis., for five days. At the end of training and testing, Sarah Garfunkel, an evaluator for the National Association For Search and Rescue, certified the dogs as Type II Area search dogs (SARTECH II).</p><p>The certification was the culmination of eight months of training for the North Central Florida Interagency Search Team Williston/Marion County Fire Rescue. They trained in Ocala, Gainesville and other areas around Florida.</p><p>On a recent Sunday, Peyton and Kylee were back at it again, playing their "games" during a training session. This time their game involved finding mock victim Michele Haney buried in a pile of pallets that are normally used for firefighter training.</p><p>Haney was hiding with the dogs' toys, which are what the dogs work for.</p><p>Once the victim is located, the search-and-rescue dogs are trained to stay with the victim and bark to alert their handlers of the find.</p><p>"It's all a game to them. To us, it's serious business," Walker said.</p><p>Search-and-rescue dogs are usually thought of as a tracking/trailing type of dog, usually a bloodhound. Dogs of this breed are trained to keep their noses to the ground and follow a scent trail, Walker said.</p><p>"Very good dogs can follow a track that is 12 hours old or more," he said.</p><p>Area dogs such as Peyton and Kylee do not follow the track or trail. They are trained so that if they are positioned down wind from the victim, they will pick up traces of the victim's scent. They will then follow the scent until they locate the victim.</p><p>In the field test in Wisconsin, each dog and handler had to locate a single victim in a 60-acre area within a certain time frame. It was more difficult in this hilly terrain, as scents travel differently than they do in a flatter environment like Florida, Walker explained.</p><p>Both search-and-rescue dogs and their handlers are currently working toward their disaster certification and becoming higher wilderness standard (Type 1) "SAR" dogs.</p><p>Walker said one of his goals is to work with local law enforcement agencies and become another resource for them.</p><p>It is laborious, time-consuming and costly to train a dog to the highest level of certification, Walker said. Both he and his wife, Elizabeth, as well as Judy Thigpen are financially responsible for their dogs in every way, and both dogs are part of their households.</p><p>Not every dog is suited to search and rescue. Like Peyton and Kylee, they must be well-rounded and have a very hunt drive and play drive. They must be in tune with their handlers and be able to work out problems on their own.</p><p>Early on, Hank and his brother John, 9, and sister Sarah, 12, were involved in Peyton's training. They would run away and hide and let the dog find them, a game they still play.</p><p>Eventually, the distances became further apart and the hiding places more difficult to locate. They are, and will always be, part of building Peyton's training chain, link-by-link.</p><p>And Peyton? He still thinks it's all a game.</p>